166 OUT WITH THE BIRDS 



By and by we left the marshes behind us ; the 

 sohd banks rose three or four feet above the wa- 

 ter, and on turning a bend we reached the ford 

 where a dozen phlegmatic cows, standing more 

 than half-submerged in the cool stream, blocked 

 our way. A few vigorous pokes with a paddle 

 and a real, full-grown war-whoop from Henry 

 cleared the stream; then we passed between wil- 

 low-trimmed banks and soon reached the wooden 

 trestle-bridge. Here we went ashore to stretch 

 our limbs and climb the bridge to get a view of 

 the great plainland in her golden dress of Au- 

 gust, stretching off for miles around us. 



When we put off again we entered a new sort 

 of world. The banks were high and overgrown 

 with a jungle of willows that in many places 

 reached out over the shaded stream. The course 

 now became even more crooked. Deep dark 

 mirror-pools awaited us around the sharp turns ; 

 here and there the channel divided and formed a 

 network among small islands, and it was only 

 by watching the direction of the aquatic vegeta- 

 tion in the shallows that we could determine 

 whether we were going upstream or down. 

 Now, too, we were greeted by an entirely dif- 

 ferent bird life. This woods-oasis on the plains 



